by Renee Gallman-Jones

Created on: August 12, 2008

Mudbugs, Craw-daddies, Crayfish or Crawfish, no matter what you call them, cooked by someone who can deliver that down home Cajun flavor and you will be calling them delicious. You are probably wondering how a woman raised in Philadelphia thinks she can offer you authentic directions on boiling crawfish Cajun style, but I assure you my Cajun/Creole roots run deep.

A vital part of making sure that your crawfish turn out tasty is to make sure to pick out the dead ones and wash them really well with salt water to get rid of the dirt. The next critical step in preparing for your boil is to add your water to the pot. We normally use an eighty-gallon pot, and yes, we are outside with our profane burner, and paddle. In order to cook two thirty-five pound sacks of crawfish fill the pot about half way with water, and then add your seasonings, what seasoning you may wonder? We normally use nine red onions, one clove of garlic, six lemons; half of a stalk of celery, three oranges, two bell peppers, a hand full of bay leaves, three large bottles of liquid crab boil, and one-third a cup of cayenne pepper finally add one box of table salt. Some people chose to add beer, and if you choose you may had a six pack of beer to your mixture, just remember to keep some for later, you are going to need it to wash down the spicy meal.
At this time it is time to prepare the water and let the water come to a boil, I will let you in on little secret, if you plan on adding potatoes and corn (also known as a low country boil) add them prior adding the spicy seasoning, one bottle of crab-boil should give them plenty of flavor. After they have cooked half of the way, then add crawfish and the rest of the spicy seasonings. Bring the pot to a full boil, cut off the burner, and let the mixture soak for fifteen to twenty minutes. If the crawfish are not spicy, add ice to cool the water, and then let the mixture soak for a little longer and the flavor should increase. Keep in mind that the longer the crawfish soak the more intense the flavor.
Now it is time to get ready to eat them, its best to eat crawfish at a big tables chairs are not an option, pour the crawfish on to the middle of the table and let the eating begin, just do not forget to suck the heads!

Ingredients:
(2) Thirty-five-pound sacks of Crawfish
(9) Red Onions
(1) Clove of Garlic
(6) Lemons
(1) Five-pound bag of potatoes
(24) Ears of Corn
(1) Half of a Stalk of Celery
(3) Oranges
(2) Bell Peppers
1/3 cup of cayenne pepper
(3) Large bottles of liquid crab boil
(1) Hand full of bay leaves
(1) Box of table salt

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